Saturday morning

I vaguely remember sleeping in on Saturday. Those precious extra hours of weekend sleep have been moved to afternoon naps, as my spotted roommate seems to get up earlier and earlier with each passing year. If he lives to be twenty, I suppose I will be awakened at two or three a.m. And so I find myself here before sunrise, surprisingly alert after a walk in the morning starlight and a the first sips of Major Dickensen's Blend.

What began as an ordinary work week with deadlines pressing, has somehow become extraordinary, and I have once again found a place in me I thought was lost forever. It was a week of discovery, of putting the past behind, of first kisses, a quickened heartbeat and what does he think obsessions.

This week I felt young and able, childlike and joyful. This week I felt strength return. Muscles that had gone unused reminded me that they were there indeed after a day of making boxes for the displaced evacuees and a return to my yoga class after 10 days of inactivity. This week I learned that a single person can make a difference, whether he's a volunteer from the northwest, the "Pop-A-Lock" man who saves you from the heat after locking your keys in your car, the sister who offers French Toast bagels, or the yoga instructor who calls to say, "are you okay?"

Sometimes, living alone, a person wonders if they really do have a place in the world. This week the Universe has answered "yes...and you're filling it nicely - just as you planned before your soul jumped into this body."

When I wonder about purpose, I realize I am a student of the Universe, with many lessons to learn and many teachers. This week new tools came from Ohio in a padded envelope, sent by one who knows me well; one I reflect. With these tools I learned that buffalo and butterfly, turtle and otter have messages for me.

Find extraordinary moments in ordinary days - is the message I am left with. A new journey of discovery begins and the map unfolds.